Silver also spoke about reforming the draft, including the potential for a wheel system for determining picks. Such a system would rotate each team into each of the 30 draft slots over a 30-year period, including a top-6 pick every five years. Teams would be slotted into their spots every year regardless of their records.

"I thought, 'Wow, that solves our problems,'" Silver said when he first heard about the system.

But small-market teams complained that potential draft picks might wait to go pro until they can join the NBA's marquee teams, Silver said.

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